Friday Quote: “Spitting in the face of the physical laws of the universe is a fool’s game. Mother Nature does not do bailouts, nor does she forgive stupidity.”
Jules Gindraux, a longtime aquifer advocate, had a wonderful letter to the Coeur d’Alene Press recently regarding the BNSF refueling depot. The BNSF facility goes before a Kootenai County hearing examiner this evening for renewal of their conditional permit for operations.
Jules points out the sad inevitability of the disaster waiting to happen as the BNSF facility refuels dozens of trains with thousands of gallons of fuel directly above the sole source of drinking water for more than a half million people. It is not really a matter of whether such a facility will fail, it is only a matter of when. As Jules puts it, “Every day that passes brings us closer to the ‘mean-time-to-failure.’” Of course, this facility has already failed once.
Unfortunately, BNSF has an approval from the county that should never have been given. Now, in an effort to make a bad situation less bad, and a potential disaster perhaps less catastrophic, the county has been trying to build into the permit renewal new aquifer protection conditions, spill prevention mechanisms and better accountability. However, BNSF, by running to the courthouse and filing a lawsuit, has been successful so far in limiting any significant impact to its operations or bottom line. For example, BNSF continues to refuse a condition on the facility that would require the facility to be shut down automatically in the case of a leak. Instead, BNSF says they will wait for Idaho DEQ or some other government agency to order them shut down.
Full story HERE at the Kootenai Environmental Blog.
